


Home for the Holidays

by Metalopod



Category: Jackbox Party Pack, Monster Seeking Monster
Genre: Christmas, Gen, Holidays, Horror, Illustrations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:54:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21762544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metalopod/pseuds/Metalopod
Summary: A young man wakes up to an unexpected house guest on Christmas morning.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	Home for the Holidays

Waking up to the scent of fresh baked cookies on Christmas- it’s something straight out of a cheesy holiday flick that I always secretly wished I could experience. Of course, I didn’t think it ever actually happened until I woke up to it. Part of me was filled with an indescribable happiness. The more logical part of me was terrified.

I lived alone. 

The clicking of high heel shoes from the next room over signaled that I had company. Shit! Did I have some sort of affair last night that I had gotten too drunk to remember? No, I don’t drink. Did I leave my apartment door open last night, only for one of my neighbors to try and give me a happy holiday morning? That somehow seemed even more unlikely. No matter who it was, it was someone who was NOT welcome, holiday or not!

Experiencing a break-in was not the way I thought my Christmas would start. What was I supposed to do? I could call the police, but was I supposed to wait until high-heels left? What if they heard me? 

The thought of asking my Mom for advice crossed my mind. Texting her would definitely be quieter than making a call. I reached for my phone. It wasn’t on my nightstand. I sat up, throwing off my blanket. It wasn’t anywhere on my bed. I looked over to my dresser, my windowsill, and on the floor. It was nowhere to be found, just an unplugged charger laying on my nightstand.

The tapping of shoes was now accompanied by a cheerful, feminine humming. I never thought I would be this afraid of hearing “Winter Wonderland.” Another sound entered the mix- my oven’s timer. 

“Ah, they’re done!” giggled the stranger, sounding more delighted than when they were humming. “He is going to LOVE these!”

There had to be something I could do without a phone. I considered escaping through the window, but I was on the fourth floor, and there had been a nasty snowstorm last night. My guts splattering across the pavement would be no better than revealing myself to whoever was in the other room.

A few knocks on my door sent me flying out of my bed. I hid myself on the floor under my sweaty blankets. They smelled so bad I had to hold my breath.

“Helloooo?” Called the stranger, sing-song. “Now where could you be?”

The scent of cookies had managed to infiltrate my stinky blanket. Fear had completely killed my appetite. I could feel their steps getting closer through the floor.

“Come on now,” the stranger huffed, dropping their melodic tone. “It’s rude to hide from your Mother!” 

This person thought I would fall for that? She didn’t sound anything like my Mom! 

I twitched. It was enough movement to signal my presence. I screamed as the covers were torn off.

Above me was a pale, curvy woman staring at me. She looked like she walked out of a 50s advertisement, with her modest pink dress, red lipstick, and curly blonde bob. Even an apron was tied around her waist. She looked to be in her mid-to-late 30’s- way too young to be my Mom! She was a total stranger!

“Paxton! There you are! You really need to wash those blankets more often, you know!”

“What do you want?” I wailed, “Take anything you want! My internet passwords! My credit cards! Anything! Just don’t hurt me!”

“Oh, honey! Why would I hurt you?” she said, her rosy cheeks raising as she smiled. “I came in to tell you that the Christmas Cookies are fresh out of the oven!”

All I could do was stare at the mysterious lady. A whirlwind of emotions was flying through my brain: confusion, distrust, curiosity, and oddly enough… comfort. She exited my room before turning to look back at me, signaling me to follow her into the room. Against my better judgement, I did.

I was surprised to find my apartment’s main room completely tidied up. The carpet had been vacuumed, the trash put away, and the books I usually left scattered on my coffee table were back on the now-dusted shelves. The big soda stain on my couch that had annoyed me for months was gone. On my kitchen counter sat a large plate of cookies.

“Now,” the lady started. “They’re very hot. Be careful not to burn your mouth.”

“I’m not really hungry.” There was no way I was going to readily eat cookies made by a stranger in my apartment. 

“Oh, sweetie, go on, just have one.”

“You should have one first,” I said. At least that way, if anyone was going to get messed up from risky cookies, it would be her. 

“Alright, alright,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. She plucked a cookie off the top of the pile and put it in her mouth. I waited for her to swallow before grabbing one for myself. 

“Okay, uh, who are you, exactly?” I asked, my mouth now full of what turned out to be a warm, decadent, sugar cookie.

“Paxton, don’t be silly. I’m your Mother!”

“You look _way_ too young to be my Mom.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“So who are you?”

“Your Mother!”

“Argh!” I balled my fists. “I have a picture of my Mom in my room! It’s not you!” I hurried into my room to grab the picture of my family I kept on my dresser. When I reached for the frame, something was very, very wrong. 

The mystery woman was in the picture, smiling next to me and my younger sister. My Mom was nowhere in it to be found.

I walked back out of the room, empty handed. “I couldn’t find it.” 

“Are you ready to open your Christmas present?” the lady asked. 

“Sure, why not.” I resigned myself to the couch. Was I dreaming?

The woman gently laid a medium box on my lap, wrapped in white paper with a big red bow. She sat next to me, throwing her arm around my shoulder and hugging me as I unwrapped the present. 

“A new blender?” I gasped. I had really wanted one after my old one went kaput. This was a welcome surprise. “How did you know?”

“Mommy _always_ knows!” the lady smiled, pulling me in for another tight hug. This situation should have horrified me, but somehow, I only felt happy, like how I used to feel on Christmas when I was a kid. The fear I felt in the pit of my stomach had completely vanished. Was this what people called a “Christmas Miracle”?

The moment was interrupted by a knock on my front door- the unmistakable rhythmic knock of my girlfriend, Susie. As I tried to stand up, I could feel the mystery woman’s hand grab my arm. 

“Don’t hurry off so fast, it’s Christmas!”

“I need to answer the door,” I said. “It’s my girlfriend.”

“Your _WHAT?_ ” the woman hissed, pulling me back towards her. JESUS CHRIST, HER FACE! Her eyes had turned completely white, and her mouth was full of dagger-like teeth so long they stretched out the skin on her face!

I pulled myself out of her grip and opened the door, sweating.

“Hey there, baby!” Susie smiled. “It smells yummy in here, did you bake somethin’? Is that why you’re all sweaty?”

“Susie. You need to leave,” I said.

“Why? I wanted to visit you for Christmas!”

“I know. I know. It’s just that… my… my… Mother’s here, and I’m uh, not ready for you guys to meet yet.” Wait, why did I say that?!

“Oh, uh, okay,” Susie said, lowering her head. “I wish you would’ve responded to my texts. I wouldn’t have come if I would’ve known.” 

“It’s okay,” I said, peering over to the spooky lady looking at me from my couch for a moment. “I didn’t know she would be here either.” 

“Some other time then,” Susie whispered. I nodded before closing the door. 

The woman’s face had now twisted into a wide grin. I swallowed hard as I stared at her.

“Sh-she’s gone,” I said, “You should probably get going, too.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous, Paxton,” she said, “There’s no place like home for the holidays.” 

“But Mother-” I paused after realizing what I had said, closing my eyes and shaking my head.

“What?” She looked at me with a curious, innocent face, the opposite of the monstrous expression she had just seconds ago.

“Never… mind.” 

“Now, come on,” she said, patting the cushion next to her. “We should enjoy this holiday together!” 

“This is all wrong. You aren’t my mother.” 

“Well then,” the lady said, leaning back onto my couch. “Tell me about your mother. Go on.” 

“Well, for starters, she has blonde hair, and usually wears a pink dress with an apron around her waist.” I looked at the woman on the couch. She had matched the exact description I just gave. She raised an eyebrow. I had to think of something else! “She can get really overprotective, and she… she really likes wearing pearl earrings!” The woman pulled her hair back, revealing pearl earrings.   
  
I tried to think about my real mother, and what set her apart from the person in my room, but I couldn’t do it. After all, she was even in the picture that I had in my room… Why did I think she wasn’t my Mother, again?

“Sorry, Mother,” I sighed. “I think I might just be burnt out from work.” I sat next to her and put my arms around her, giving her a tight hug.

“Aww, Paxton, that’s okay!” Mother insisted, patting me on the back. “Luckily, I made lots of cookies. We can watch some Christmas specials later today, okay, honey?”

I couldn’t remember the last time I had such a nice Christmas with my Mother.

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe I'm the first person to do a Jackbox Party Games fanfiction.
> 
> Since "The Mother" is counted as a Monster, I wanted to explore what sort of powers she could possibly have. I hope you enjoyed this story.


End file.
